‘You’re completely mistaken’ Jairam tells Odisha minister

Union ministerfor Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has dismissed Odisha Food Supplies minister Pratap Keshari Deb’s allegation that he had provided wrong information on Odisha’s entitlement under the new National Food security Bill, 2013.

“I am afraid you are completely mistaken”, the Union minister said in his letter to Deb today adding that while Odisha’s average annual offtake of foodgrains under the TPDS has been 20.77 lakh tons since 2010, it would increase to 21.09 lakh ton under the new National Food Security Bill, 2013.

While pointing out that Odisha’s offtake of foodgrains has been 92.4%, 97.1% and 96.6% respectively in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, Ramesh in his letter says. “ The average annual offtake is under normal TPDS which consists of BPL, APL and AAY, as you are aware, is based on norms and is not an adhoc allocation”.

The state Food supplies and consumer welfare minister Pratap Keshari Deb had, on Monday, alleged that the Centre is misleading the people of Odisha by providing wrong information about the new Food Security Bill.

Referring to the statement of Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh that the new Bill would enable Odisha to get more grains than what it has been getting now, Deb said the Union Minister has given a wrong information.

“The Central allocation of BPL rice for Odisha is for 27.76 lakh beneficiaries including 5.41 lakh APL families of the undivided KBK districts as against the requirement of 42.32 lakh beneficiaries. On the contrary, the state government is providing food grains which is much higher”, the minister maintained.

Earlier, decrying the BIll, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had said that with the implementation of the Bill, the overall rice allotment to the state would decrease from 1.82 lakh tonnes to 1.70 lakh tonnes.

The new Bill will have a provision of five kg of food grain per beneficiary every month whereas presently 25 kg of rice is provided per month to a family, he contended.